47 cases of Delta variant detected at Tata hospital in Jamshedpur

JAMESDPUR: The Tata Main Hospital (TMH) has reported 47 Delta variant (B.1.617.2) of the Covid-19 virus during the second wave so far. The highly contagious variant of the virus was verified after samples were sent to an Odisha-based laboratory for examination, officials said.
"We had sent 100 samples to the laboratory and 47 were found to be Delta variant," said Rajan Choudhary, advisor (medical services) Tata Steel.
Delta variant has been declared as highly contagious by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its finding in the state is a concern.
Choudhary said two doses of the vaccine available in the country currently, Covaxin and Covishield, is still effective against the variant and give protection to a considerable extent. "Delta variant is believed to show increased transmissibility or detrimental change in epidemiology," Choudhary said, referring to various findings.
The official further said the second wave of the pandemic is fast declining in the district. "In TMH, the positive rate has declined to 2.06% from 17.13% a few weeks ago," Choudhary said.
He said only one Covid patient is currently admitted to the critical care unit of the hospital while 11 others are undergoing treatment at the Covid ward.
Last week, the hospital had 15 Covid cases compared to 12 currently. "The cases have come down but there's no lowering the guard. The safety protocol should be followed," Choudhary stressed.